KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State Owls women’s cross country team hosted their first meet as a Division I program on Friday evening, winning the KSU Owl Invitational at Noonday Park in Kennesaw.

A familiar venue for the squad, as they often practice there during the season, they were able to take advantage of their experience, as Britany Reilly led the way with a victory on the muddy 2-mile layout with a time of 12:09, and five other Owls finished in the top-ten on their way to a smooth victory against four other teams, including Atlantic Sun Conference foes Mercer and Lipscomb.

“I love running in these conditions, this is what cross country running is all about,” said Reilly, referring to the wet conditions caused by heavy rain about an hour prior to the race. “The course is pretty flat, there’s one little hill, but it wasn’t the kind of race where we were going to set any personal records. It was about placing, and we all did a very good job of that.”

Reilly took the reins as the top runner for the Owls, as nine-time A-Sun Runner of the Week Mackenzie Howe did not run in advance of the A-Sun Championship, which will take place on October 31 in DeLand, Fla.

The Black & Gold were able to show off their deep lineup in front of a home crowd, which they have not had the chance to do since they began competing at the NCAA Division I level. Senior Erin Sutton, who finished fifth in just her second race of the season, was glad to be able to compete close to school.

“This was my first home meet in five years, and it’s really great that the course is so similar to the one we will face at Conference. It’s good that we only ran two miles prior to next week, it’s a good warm up.”

Fellow Owls Kristen Gibson, Caitlin German, Lorena Jaime, and Soibhan Wolcott all followed Reilly and Sutton towards the top of the pack, finishing sixth, eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively.

The next race for the Owls will be the one that they have been preparing for all season long. Their quest for the A-Sun Championship began in early September at the JSU Struts Season Opener, and the time is now here for them to take home their second A-Sun crown since 2005.

KSU OWL INVITATIONAL OFFICIAL RESULTS

1 Britany Reilly- KSU 12:09.21

2 Tracy Koch- SCAD 12:10.28

3 Sarah Caskey- SCAD 12:15.92

4 Kacie Nieman-Mercer 12:23.94

5 Erin Sutton-KSU 12:25.06

6 Kristen Gibson-KSU 12:25.51

7 Ashley Stovall-JSU 12:41.83

8 Caitlin German-KSU 12:50.32

9 Lorena Jaime-KSU 12:55.59

10 Soibhan Wolcott-KSU 13:01.97

11 Amanda Twigg- Lipscomb 13:02.17

12 Veronica Citireag-JSU 13:06.66

13 Shannon Shoemake-Lipscomb 13:14.18

14 Priya Pappu-Lipscomb 13:14.62

15 Kailey Jensen-JSU 13:19.48

16 Cara Martin-SCAD 13:22.08

17 Danielle Florey-JSU 13:23.11

18 Katie Charles- KSU 13:39.50

19 Megan Hoar- Lipscomb 13:44.41

20 Clara Densmore-Mercer 13:45.98

21 Valerie Winkler- Lipscomb 13:49.31

22 Cara Brenner-JSU 13:50.71

23 Heather Riniker-SCAD 13:54.21

24 Christina Kivi-Mercer 14:07.83

25 Laura Stewart- Lipscomb 14:11.00

26 Kasie Knapper-Mercer 14:12.71

27 Karen Dorris-Mercer 14:31.10

28 Natalie Johnson-SCAD 14:39.17

29 Alesa Webber-Mercer 15:11.28

30 Victoria Aboud-SCAD 15:15.95

31 Rebecca Broome-Mercer 15:20.44

32 Hannah Stark- Mercer 15:23.08

33 Melissa Stephenson-JSU 15:58.44

34 Jenna Jackson-Mercer 16:12.28

35 Megan Merrifield-SCAD 16:15.52

36 Lauren Souter- SCAD 16:24.22

37 Katie Henson-JSU 17:40.64

OFFICIAL TEAM RESULTS

1. KSU 29pts

2. SCAD 72pts

3. JSU 73pts

4. Lipscomb 78pts

5. Mercer 101pts